Today, as Mark McGreevy, founder and President of the Depaul Group, announces he is stepping back from his leadership position, we would like to thank him and reflect on his 36 years of extraordinary service.
Mark is a leader who is driven by his strong values, person-centred approach and commitment to addressing the Vincentian question, ‘what must be done?’ In 1989, Cardinal Hume brought together the Daughters of Charity, the Society of St Vincent de Paul and the Passage to set up the first Depaul service in response to the growing number of young people sleeping on the streets of London.
This service would be the first of many supporting those experiencing homelessness around the world. Under Mark’s dedicated leadership, the Depaul Group has expanded, providing services in areas where there was previously little or no support. He has consistently shown the value of acting boldly with vision to implement locally led solutions to homelessness, working to establish locally governed Depaul members which now run services in eight countries.
It’s this approach which led to the launch of Depaul Ireland in 2002, providing much-needed support to street drinkers when no other organisation would. In 2006, Depaul Slovakia opened, which now operates the largest night shelter in central Europe. Then, during a visit to Kharkiv in Ukraine, Mark spoke to children sleeping on the streets who had been left behind by other services. Committed to ensuring that these children received the support they deserved, Mark launched Depaul Ukraine in 2007 – an organisation that would, years later, be instrumental in providing much-needed humanitarian aid to those impacted by the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Since then, the Depaul Group has expanded to the USA, France and Croatia, with the newest member, Depaul Philippines, officially launching this year.
Underpinning this work has been Mark’s deep commitment to ensuring that those experiencing homelessness are treated with the dignity and compassion they deserve – an example which is upheld by our teams across the Depaul Group as they provide great care to those they support.
Mark has also been a pioneer in recognising that, whilst locally-led solutions are vital, homelessness also deserves an international response. It’s why he set up Depaul International to foster collaboration across the growing Depaul Group to address homelessness. He then co-founded the Institute of Global Homelessness (IGH) with De Paul University in Chicago, an organisation focused on ending homelessness globally by bridging research, policy and practice. This includes influencing the United Nations and Member States to implement an agreed global definition of homelessness. In 2017, Mark expanded the Depaul Group’s global reach further, when the Famvin Homeless Alliance (FHA) was set up to foster collaboration and capacity-building across the global Vincentian Family. Their flagship initiative, the 13 Houses Campaign, has seen affordable housing built in over 70 countries.
The Depaul Group sits within the 400-year-old Vincentian tradition of faith in action, and Mark has been instrumental in embedding Vincentian values within the organisation. Throughout his leadership, Mark has delivered Vincentian values training for staff, inspiring us to be innovative and walk alongside those we serve. These values unite staff across the Group and strengthen our work addressing homelessness.
The world has changed a lot during the 36 years of Mark’s leadership, but homelessness still remains an urgent global problem. The challenges driving homelessness and housing insecurity continue to grow across the world. Thanks to Mark’s leadership, Depaul is well placed to meet those challenges, but we cannot do so alone. The continued commitment of our donors, partners and supporters, alongside the support of new individuals, organisations and funders who share our vision, will be vital if we are to continue reaching those most in need and deliver our long-term ambition of ending homelessness for as many people as possible.
Thank you again to Mark for his extraordinary leadership, and his commitment to Depaul’s vision of a world where everyone has a place to call home and a stake in their community.
Matthew Carter, Group CEO Depaul International and Helen O’Shea, Chair of Trustees